[geeks] Microsoft Surface...

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Mark wrote:
> On 31 May 2007, at 01:22, Bill Bradford wrote:
> 
>> On Thu, May 31, 2007 at 12:03:00AM +0100, Mark wrote:
>>> Has anyone else seen this:
>>> http://www.microsoft.com/surface/
>>> I was pretty blown away by it but I'm aware it could be partially
>>> hype. Still as a concept it's pretty damned impressive, especially as
>>> it came out of Microsoft!
>> Unfortunately, they didn't come up with the idea.
> 
> Oh jesus can anyone *not* look at a Microsoft product and decide it's  
> a total crap shoot because it uses other people's innovation? I mean  
> really, it isn't something Microsoft have done exclusively but they  
> got a product, and are marketing it, and they've been working on this  
> for many years (well, if you believe the 'Origins' section).

That's *ALL* they have ever done.

You can always tell where Microsoft *HAS* innovated though: those are the
crappy parts that barely work.

> Whenever Apple releases an innovative new product everyone is in awe  
> and wonder at how great it is and how innovative it is, even if it  
> doesn't work off something they developed themselves - like the  
> screen on the iPhone, you mentioned they bought that in from outside.

That's because Apple mostly does their own work.  They integrate *parts* from
other sources, but most of their software and hardware is their own, and they
tend to pick better stuff when they do buy it.

Besides, Apple isn't perfect either.  Jobs is probably the worst elitist bully
on the block.  One evil doesn't justify another.

> Yet if Microsoft does it everyone beats down on the table. They say  
> "You fraudsters, you ripped off so-and-so and such-and-such" or "oh  
> they just bought in someone elses idea", becuase that's what everyone  
> is used to saying about Microsoft. They overlook the fact that, at  
> least from the demos I've seen, this looks like a genuinely great  
> idea. It's intuitive, it's straightforward to use and, most  
> importantly, it's different.

That doesn't change the fact that Microsoft has held this industry back for
over 20 years, and done uncountable damage to it.

Yes, some things they do are actually OK, but it will never make up for the
damage they have done.

Even today, in 2007, when the PC has *NO* need for legacy hardware, Microsoft
forces it to because they refuse to rewrite their PC HAL to run without it.

No other OS has this problem.

> I've been a vocal critic of Microsoft, and still am, but even I can't  
> help but like this as a product concept. C'mon guys, they got the  
> product done first for a change, give em some credit...

No, they didn't.

The idea actually goes back to US Navy displays from the late 50s.

It is a very old idea.

Just because they polished it up doesn't make it an innovation.

Real innovation is very hard, because so much has been done already.

This is neat, but I guarantee Microsoft will screw it up.

For one thing, it will require their software to work.

You see, they already *have* screwed it up... :)

Aside: I don't really care if anyone has "innovation".  What I really care
about is "things that work".

Innovation be damned, just please create something that works well, OK?



-- 
shannon           | Consulting wouldn't be what it is today without Microsoft
                  | Windows.
                  |        -- Chris Pinkham